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Cape Town Accommodation Question

I am getting down to finalizing the details of our 2012 trip to South Africa. Thank you all for the earlier advice--we settled on Mashatu instead of Victoria Falls/Chobe, gaining two nights of safari at less cost.

Our agent has recommended Abbey Manor in Cape Town. It looks lovely and gets good reviews, but I am considering whether an upgrade to the Cape Grace is worth it. This will be for the last three nights of our trip, with an evening departure on the fourth night. The extra cost would be almost $300 US per night. What do people think? Anyone stayed at Abbey Manor? Is there somewhere else we should consider? We will be there on a Saturday/Sunday/Monday, if that matters. I like to be able to walk to restaurants and cafes if possible. From Abbey Manor, it looks like we would need to take a taxi, as we will not have a car. Are taxis easy to obtain?

I hope you love Mashatu as much as I did. One of those places that I'd definitely visit again. If you are staying at Main, request a rock art visit. I don't think you can do it from Tented, but you can ask.

The Cape Grace is very convenient and has car service for anything within 15 km (check to make sure they still do) so we didn't need cabs to eat at the waterfront or downtown. Check out the Victoria and Albert Hotel (right in the middle of everything) and The Commodore. They might be good options for you. I don't know anything about Abbey. Use the hop-on, hop-off bus in CT. It was fun.

Cape Town has tons of great places. It depends on your budget. Unless you a renting a car, probably best to stay near the City Bowl, or Waterfront or perhaps Sea Point. Downtown is better than it once was though still edgy at night in many places. Remember, wherever you stay, be very careful about walking about in any quiet streets after dark (most residents don't), unless you are in the Waterfront precinct or perhaps Long Street in the city center, and only in the upper parts of it.